PM Nation – Selecting Teams for March Madness

Welcome to the fourth edition of PM Nation. Obviously with the NCAA Tournament starting this weekend, that is our topic this week. We will have two separate columns this week about March Madness. This edition’s topic will be about the selection process and if the committee’s system is the right way to choose which teams should go dancing.

PM Nation

Cody Straub: The question: is the NCAA committee’s system through judging the RPI, strength of schedule, vs. the RPI top 50, and using the teams’ whole season resume instead of just the last couple weeks of the season the right way to select teams to go dancing.

Taylor: No, look at Villanova. They start off the season real high and then at the end of the season they lose three out of their last four games. You don’t want high seeded teams coming into the tournament cold.

CS: Look at teams like Gonzaga in a weak conference. They play a hard non-conference schedule, but toward the end of the season, they don’t have any chances to get good wins because of their weak conference. So they should not be punished with a lower seed because their best wins are at the beginning of the season.

TG: I’m not saying teams with weak conferences shouldn’t get in, but because of their weak conference, they need to win every conference game so they can create a better resume.

CS: Every team in the country will lose one game they should have won. So one slip-up in a conference game should put a team in or out of the tournament, as long they have good wins.

TG: Like Dick Vitale said on Selection Sunday, the last ten games of the season should be the most meaningful games. Mississippi State should have been in the tournament because of how they ended their season.

Taylor Groff Co-editor for PM Nation

CS: That is ridiculous. Mississippi State did not beat anyone until the Vanderbilt game. You can’t tell me they get in ahead of Florida, Florida has more quality wins and played better non-conference games.

TG: That is all for this edition, stay tuned later this week for our tournament predictions. If you agree or disagree with this column, you can write your opinion down in the comment box about the topic, we want to know what everyone thinks.

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Comments

Hey, I’m a hardcore college basketball fan with Lehigh being my favorite team. What do you think their odds are to beat Kansas and make a serious run in this thing? Also, do they into affect how experienced there coaches are, or is it strictly on the player’s overall performance. I can’t get these answers from any ESPN analysts.

well a number 16 seed has never beat a one seed in the NCAA tournament but the last time the JayHawks played a team from the patriot league they were upset by Buknell in Oklahoma City in the first round of the 2005 tourny. But Lehigh might put on a show and keep it close but sorry to say but it will probably be a blow out.

Lehigh has no chance of upsetting Kansas. Only 1 seed that should even be remotely concerned is Kentucky playing East Tennessee St. As far as the last ten games go, I do agree it should be taken into consideration, but the selection committee voted against it a few years ago and now only look at the whole body of work done by a team. Here are my misseedings: Temple(v), TN (v), Nova(^), Florida(^), SDSU(v), Cornell(v), Vandy(^), Butler(^), Cal(^), ND(^), BYU(v)

Temple got the right seeding because pitt had more quality wins against ranked teams and in a better conference. Temple does deserve to be in the tournament but a five or four seed is really what they deserve.

Dissolve: I think Lehigh should have atleast been a 15 seed. I mean they beat teams like Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, and Holy Cross! I really think Lehigh is gonna surprise some people this year…I’ll be back to say I told you so when they beat Kansas.

Hey PM Nation, I was wondering what you think “TBA’s” chances are of beating duke? i mean, surely they have a better chance than Lehigh of winning their first round game, with wins over Penn state lancaster, saint phillips church, and PNC Bank. Duke has struggled in recent tournaments and i really think the university of TBA has a good shot. for haters that say a number 16 seed has never beaten a number 1 seed, records are meant to be broken, right, i mean right?